I
met Ned on a cold night. He was being passed from a truck into my arms,
and then home to a bottle of warm goat milk. He was an adorable ball of
fur and irresistible features. His new home sheltered him from the harsh
New England winters, and from the practical farmer who had little use
for a little billy goat.
All
these memories from thirty-seven years ago came flooding back to me
in spring 2007 when I was on our local Farm Tour, and met a goat that
looked just like Ned. Ned was a special, sweetheart, and this recent
siting deeply inspired me to paint this beguiling goat.
Ned became a beloved pet at our communal farm back in 1974. Our farm
was affectionately called Sky Farm. The local "real farmers"
came to look on our farming efforts with some acceptance, and we thought
we were headed in the right direction. Our chickens pecked about in
the huge vegetable garden, flanked by the horse field and barn where
Bosco and Roger spent their days. Ned loved climbing the monstrous wood
pile, which grew through the summer and shrank during winter as it warmed
the house and cooked our food in the iron cook stove. We lived an ideal
life full of hard work, nature, and simplicity. I'm aching to get back
to these ways of life, and love the Chatham County farm tour as an opportunity
to look and learn and yearn. The countryside, plants and animals are
always my constant inspirations.
